I really hope crafting is good but expect to be disappointed

The "best gear from raids" seems like it is just the same old WoW paradigm. My last, best hope is that it is something that is just not important enough to make first release but they will put it in as an "elder gaming" sort of thing.

"Roll an alt for another 200 hours" may be the right answer for non-subscription games, but it does not seem like the way to sell more MMO subscription-months.

Huh? For those who did not play or have any idea about SWG, please elaborate. People love to throw around this sandbox term like it is really bad.

Not that it's bad, just that it's not what Bioware is doing in TOR. Endgame in TOR appears to be focused on Operations and Warzones. Leveling is a fairly linear process where you're shepherded through a series of worlds. There isn't a focus on space travel (there isn't any) or exploration (there is some). Crafting is handled like it is in WoW; crafting is not an endgame in and of itself. SWG and WoW/TOR are just different styles of MMOs. TOR's endgame very much has a sense of direction to it, which is the exact opposite of how games like SWG and EVE are structured.